Issued July, 1913 



Yale University 

YALE FOREST SCHOOL— Bulletin 3 



A WORKING PLAN FOR THE 

WOODLANDS OF THE NEW HAVEN 

WATER COMPANY 

Prepared After Five Years of Forest Practice 
1908 TO 1912 

By 

Ralph C. Hawley 

Assistant Prof essor of Forestry 




New Haven 

Yale University Press 

1913 



Issued July, 1913 



Yale University 

YALE FOREST SCHOOL— Bulletin 3 



A WORKING PLAN FOR THE 

WOODLANDS OF THE NEW HAVEN 

WATER COMPANY 

Prepared After Five Years of Forest Practice 
1908 TO 1912 

By 

Ralph C. Hawley 

M 
Assistant Professor of Forestry 




New Haven 

Yale University Press 

1913 



5l\A 



3^ 

s 



cm 



do 

o 

^ CONTENTS 
02' 

^ PAGE 

Introduction 5 

Part I. Description of the property 6 

Location and size 6 

Physiographic features 7 

Climate 7 

Topography 7 

Drainage 7 

Soils 8 

The social and industrial situation 8 

Classification of lands 8 

Forest types 10 

Hardwood 11 

Hemlock 12 

Pine 12 

Old field 12 

Present volume 13 

Growth 15 

Utilization 16 

Past Operations 17 

Cuttings 17 

Method of handling cuttings 18 

Planting 19 

Protection 20 

Administration 21 

Receipts and expenditures 21 

Management units 21 

Part II. Management of the property 23 

Object of management 23 

Silvicultural systems 23 

Methods of cutting and reproduction 23 

Hardwood type 23 

Hemlock type 24 

Pine type 25 

Old field type 25 

Rotation and expected yield 25 

Hardwood type 25 

Hemlock type 25 

Pine type 25 

Regulation of the yield 26 

Cutting policy 26 

Planting 27 

Protection 29 

Administration 29 

Expected financial results 29 

Revision of the working plan 30 



TABLES 

PAGE 

Table 1. Areas by types 9 

2. Areas of the forest types according to age classes or 

to density of stocking 10 

S. Contents in cords by types and age classes for each 

tract 14 

4. Mean annual growth according to soil qualities .... 15 

5. Stumpage prices for wood and timber 17 

6. Amount of nursery stock on hand, December SI, 1912 20 

7. Receipts, expenditures and surplus, 1908 to 1912 . . 21 

PLATE 

PAGE 

Plate 1. Map showing location of lands owned by the New 

Haven Water Company facing 16 



A WORKING PLAN FOR THE WOODLANDS 

OF THE 

NEW HAVEN WATER COMPANY 



Prepared After Five Years of Forest Practice 
1908 TO 1912 

By RALPH C. HAWLEY 



INTRODUCTION 

Soon after the establishment of the Yale Forest School in 1900, 
the necessity developed for finding forest lands near the city of 
New Haven upon which to conduct field work. It was found that 
many of the most accessible and best timbered tracts were owned 
by the New Haven Water Company. In 1901 arrangements were 
made whereby the wooded lands on a single tract owned by this 
Company of about 250 acres near the Maltby Lakes, were placed 
under the management of the Yale Forest School. In the autumn 
of 1907 the New Haven Water Company, largely through the 
interest of Hon. Eli Whitney and Mr. David Daggett, officers of 
the Company and both prominent Yale graduates, decided to 
practice forestry on their entire holdings of over 8,000 acres and 
appointed the writer as Forester. 

This arrangement, which is still in force, has proved of mutual 
advantage to the Company and the School. The condition of the 
woodlands has improved, open areas are being planted, expendi- 
tures have been more than off*set by receipts, while eventually a 
large annual income will be received. The School utilizes these 
lands for purposes of field instruction. As the tract develops under 
proper treatment, its value for purposes of instruction will steadily 
increase. 

Since the lands of the Company are used by the School for 
purposes of instruction, a written working plan is desirable. 

The plan is divided into two parts : the first, descriptive of 
present conditions and past accomplishments ; the second, treating 
of the policy to be pursued. 



PART I. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPERTY 



LOCATION AND SIZE 

The lands comprised in the holdings of the Company are adja- 
cent to New Haven in New Haven County, Connecticut. They 
are not in one contiguous body, but (as shown on the map facing 
page 16) in many parcels, east, north and west of the city. 
It is evident that, while many isolated parcels* occur, in the main 
the lands lie in a number of large blocks. The tracts nearest the 
city limits, namely, Wintergreen and Maltby, and a portion of 
Whitney, are less than five miles from the center of the city, while 
the Prospect tract, farthest away, is between thirteen and four- 
teen miles distant. All the lands are within a fourteen mile 
radius of the cit}'^, and about half are Avithin a six mile radius. 

The Company was organized in 1849 but has been most active 
in the purchase of lands in recent years. With rare exceptions 
the lands are on the watersheds of streams draining into storage 
reservoirs. In a country where the land is held in relatively small 
lots and usually is divided into farms, the acquisition of an 
unbroken tract is possible only as the result of much time and 
patient effort. 

Eventually the consolidation of many of the scattered parcels 
with some of the larger blocks seems probable, since the holdings 
are being enlarged as favorable opportunities for purchase occur. 
Occasionally lands are sold because of their undesirable location 
with respect to reservoirs. 

The exact total area owned is unknown, since the making of 
detailed maps has not kept up with the purchase of land. It is 
estimated, however, that the total area (exclusive of water sur- 
faces) is between 8,500 and 9,000 acres. The area for which 
maps are available and which throughout this report will be 
referred to as the "total area" is 7,756 acres, divided between the 
different tracts as follows : 



TRACTJ 






AREA IN ACRES 


East Wallingford . . . 684.5 


Maltby . 






1,099.5 


Saltonstall 






1,311.0 


Prospect . 






293.5 


Whitney . 






491.5 


West River 






3,421.5 


Wintergreen 






454.5 


Total .... 


. 7,756.0 



*Many of the smaller lots are not shown on this map. 

+The names of these tracts are taken either from the name of the reservoirs which they 
protect, or from the name of the town in which they are located. 



Description of the Property 7 

The working plan, while it relates particularly to these areas, 
can in its general provisions be applied equally well to the 
unmapped lands. 

PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES 

Climate. The average annual precipitation at New Haven for 
the last forty years has been 46.65 inches, with maximum and mini- 
mum of 60.26 and 34.83 inches, respectively. While the rainfall is 
ample for tree growth, droughts are likely to occur during the 
growing season and, while not protracted enough to seriously 
affect established forests, often cause considerable loss to repro- 
duction and are especially disastrous to young plantations. Dur- 
ing the past ten years, on the average, the latest killing frost in 
the spring has occurred on April 21 and the earliest in the 
autumn on October 13 ; hence a growing season of at least six 
months may be relied on. 

Topography. The range in elevation above sea level is from 
about 20 feet to approximately 700 feet, although the greater 
part of the land lies between 100 and 500 feet, and on any given 
tract the range in relative elevation is small. 

Underlying the region and influencing its topography are three 
general types of rock, namely, sandstone, granites and schists, and 
trap. 

The sandstone, being the softest, has worn away most rapidly, 
and presents a rolling topography which makes logging easy. 
Only a relatively small portion of the tract is of this character. 
Granites and schists which underlie the greater portion of the 
area are responsible for considerable minor irregularities, such 
as small knolls, ridges or ledges rising abruptly to a height of 
from ten to fifty feet above the hollows. Such topography, 
although not rough enough to interfere seriously with logging, 
often makes it difficult to get wood down from the higher eleva- 
tions. Trap occurs here in the form of intrusive dykes, some- 
times rising over 200 feet above the surrounding country and 
frequently precipitous on the north and west sides. Such ridges 
form the most striking topographic features of the tract and 
offer the greatest difficulties to the removal of timber. There 
is less trap than either of the other two rock types. 

Drainage. The general slope of the region is toward Long 
Island Sound. The lands are located on the watersheds of streams 
which, with one exception,* drain southward into the Sound. Most 
of the streams converge as they approach the coast so as to pass 

♦Drainage from the Prospect tract goes northward. 



8 Working Plan for New Haven Water Company 

either through the City of New Haven or nearby to the east or 
west. Thus the easy and natural outlet for forest products from 
most of the lands is toward New Haven. 

Soils. The soils as well as the topography have an intimate 
relation with the underlying rock. Judged by their abiHty to 
produce crops of trees, a wide range of soils occurs, varying from 
those in swamps too wet to permit tree growth to others on rocky 
ledges too dry and shallow to produce anything but scattered, 
stunted trees. There is a wide range of more productive sites 
between these extremes. Practically no infertile, sandy lands 
occur, since all of the soils, regardless of the underlying rock, are 
fertile enough for tree growth. The poorest soils are on the 
trap ridges, but where of sufficient depth the trap soils are of 
excellent quality. The sandstone soils are the least stony. Most 
of the swamp land has granitic rock beneath it. In classifying 
lands according to their soil quality a separation into four classes 
was deemed sufficient, namely, into qualities I, II, III and swamp 
soils ; quality I being the most, and quality III the least, produc- 
tive of upland soils, wliile swamp includes all soils with an exces- 
sive amount of moisture. 

THE SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL SITUATION 

One of the fundamental conditions for profitable forestry is a 
good local market. This condition is well met in the case of the 
Company's lands, for the region near New Haven is one of the 
most thickly settled in the United States. The city of New 
Haven has a population of over 133,000, while fully 300,000 
people live within nine miles of some part of the holdings. Manu- 
facturing is the principal industry, there being 500 manufactur- 
ing plants of various kinds in New Haven and the surrounding 
region. Even outside of New Haven the population is centered 
in towns and there are portions of the country very scantily 
populated. 

Only a small proportion of the total population is engaged in 
agriculture, chiefly represented by market gardening, dairying 
and orcharding. 

CLASSIFICATION OF LANDS 

According to the best available figures,* 46 per cent of the 
area of New Haven County is forested. The balance, roughly 
215,000 acres, is agricultural, or included in towns and cities. 



♦Forest Survey of Litchfield and New Haven Counties, Conn.; Connecticut Agricultural 
Experiment Station, 1909. 



Description of the Property 



9 



water surfaces or salt marshes. Thus the Company's woodlands, 
though the largest single holding in the county, represent but a 
small part of the total forest in the region about New Haven. 

An important step preliminary to the making of the working 
plan was the classification of the lands into various types. The 
accurate maps made by the Company's engineers, usually on the 
scale of 400 feet to the inch and divided into sheets of convenient 
size, were of great assistance in this work. In exceptional cases 
less accurate maps on a smaller scale had to be utihzed. On 
these the types and age classes were shown.* From these maps 
the areas were determined by means of the planimeter. 

Seven types were recognized as shown in Table 1, the first three 
being wooded, the last three unforested, and the old field partly 
wooded and partly open. Following the table are brief descrip- 
tions defining each. Fuller descriptions of the wooded and old 
field types will be found under "Forest Types." 



Table 1. — Are 


AS BY Types. 


Type. 


Area in acres. 




3703.0 

132.0 

416.5 

2737.0 

712.0 

34.0 

21.5 




Pine 


Old field 










Total 


7756.0 





Hardwood. Comprises land occupied by hardwoods other than 
gray birch. 

Hemlock'. All stands containing 80 per cent or more (judged 
by the crown space occupied) of hemlock are included. 

Pine. Includes all stands containing 80 per cent or more of 
pine. 

Old field. This type contains both wooded and open land. The 
forest cover is usually broken and principally composed of red 
cedar and gray birch. Where open land is included it is of poorer 
quality than that classed as agricultural, and more suitable for 
growing forest crops. All formerly cultivated fields which are 
now lying idle and slowly reverting to forest are included. With 

*In securing data for the type and age class maps each stand was visited and a separate 
description made covering the following points: Type; Age; Area; Total volume; Forest; Soil; 
Annual growth; Past treatment; Recommended treatment. 

These descriptions are recorded on 5 x 8 inch cards printed with the proper headings. 
Each card carries the description of a single stand or subcompartment. (See page 21.) The 
cards are placed in a filing case and serve as a card catalogue of the tract. Used in connection 
with the maps detailed information can be secured and work planned in the office for any 
portion. 



10 Working Plan for New Haven Water Company 



the exception of a few isolated seedlings many of these fields are 
treeless. 

Agricultural. Land suitable for cultivation or grazing is 
classified under tliis head. It is difficult to draw the line between 
agricultural land and open old fields, as the former, if neglected 
a few years, may become old field, while, on the other hand, cer- 
tain old fields, if cared for, may develop an agricultural value. 
The distinction is based more on the present condition and prob- 
able use for the next few years than on the actual value of each 
site for producing farm or forest crops. 

Administrative. Certain open areas, chiefly near the lakes, are 
included in this class, because of use in connection with the admin- 
istration of the tract. 

Barren. This includes a small amount of land useless for grow- 
ing tree crops. 

FOREST TYPES 

In general, the forest may be classed as young hardwoods 
composed of many evenaged stands. Of 4,251.5 acres completely 
forested, the hardwood type comprises 3,703 acres. The pine 
and hemlock types cover relatively small areas, 132 and 416.5 
acres, respectively, and contain from 10 to 20 per cent of hard- 
woods. A large part of the stand occurring in the old field type 
is composed of gray birch and red cedar. 

Table 2 shows the area in each age class and type and brings 
out clearly the fact that the forest is young. The range of age 
is from one year to over eighty years. The classification of the 

Table 2. — Area of the Forest Types According to Age 
Classes or to Density of Stocking. 



Age in 
years. 


Hardwood Hemlock 
acres. j acres. 


Pine 
acres. 


Old Field 
acres. 


Total 
acres. 


1-10 
11-20 
21-30 
31-40 
41-50 
51-60 
61-70 
71-80 
81-up 

Density of 
stocking. 

.Oto .3 
.4 to .6 
.7 to 1.0 


1037.0 
757.5 
519.0 
563.0 
348.0 
303.5 
113.5 
29.0 
32.5 


1.0 

122.5 

6.5 

2.0 


382.5 
34.0 


1709.0 
511.5 
516.5 


1419.5 
757.5 
519.0 
563.0 
348.0 
304.5 
236.0 
35.5 
68.5 

1709.0 
511.5 
516.5 




Total 


3703.0 


132.0 


416.5 


2737.0 


6988.5 



Description of the Property 11 

forest into age classes is a simple matter on account of the even- 
aged character of the stands. This results from the system of 
clear cutting which has prevailed in the past and is still followed. 
In the old field type trees of all ages may occur in the same 
stand and hence it was impossible to classify this type by age 
classes. A division into three classes was made, based on the 
extent to which the old field was stocked with trees.* 

The principal commercial species are chestnut and white, red, 
black and chestnut oaks. Further information regarding the 
composition and condition of the forest is presented separately 
for each type. 

Hardwood. While the hardwood type is distinguished from 
the other types by being composed almost wholly of hardwoods, 
yet there are found great variations in its composition depending 
on the quality of the site. In the swamps, soft maple is the cliief 
species, with elm, ash, whitewood and swamp white oak as its most 
frequent associates. Pure stands of soft maple are not uncom- 
mon. The condition of the stands on swamp land depends quite 
largely on the amount of moisture contained in the soil. Some 
of the swamps are so wet as to restrict the tree growth to scattered, 
stunted individuals, wlule in other less moist situations conditions 
are nearly as favorable for growth as on quality I sites. 

On quality I sites chestnut predominates, with red oak second. 
Other oaks, hickory, ash, whitewood, black birch, soft maple, beech 
and hemlock are usually present. Ordinarily at least 60 per cent 
of the stand is chestnut, and frequently pure stands occur. On 
quality II sites chestnut is still an important species, but the 
oaks, — red, white, black and scarlet, — taken together, are fully 
as important. Very rarely is a pure chestnut stand found and 
often the percentage of chestnut is less than twenty-five. Five 
oaks, namely, chestnut, scarlet, black, red and white, occur, and 
with hickory form nearly the entire forest on quality III sites. 
Thus the forest on the three upland sites is composed principally 
of chestnut and oak, ranging through a great variation of mix- 
tures to pure stands of either. On the poorest tliird quality sites 
stands from fifty to eighty years old are barely of merchantable 
size even for cordwood. 

Of the stands in the hardwood type, 28 per cent are less than 
ten years of age, w^hile only about 13 per cent are over fifty 
years old. Stands younger than fifty years rarely yield enough 
merchantable timber to be considered mature. The site must be 
quality I and the stand contain a large percentage of chestnut 
to be merchantable before the fiftieth year. 



*That this division is virtually an age division is explained on page 13. 



12 Working Plan for New Haven Water Company 

The areas in each age class are given in Table 2. In the 
majority of cases the stands are fully stocked. Injury by 
forest fires has resulted in opening up some stands and the effects 
of grazing can be seen in others. The severest injury has 
come from the chestnut blight. It is probable that not a 
single stand containing chestnut is free from the disease. In 
places the chestnut trees of all ages are dead or dying. The final 
result of the present attack can not be definitely foretold, but 
unless it is checked all the chestnut will likely be killed within a 
very few years. This will leave the stands which now contain 
chestnut in very poor condition. Should the sprouts from the 
stumps of the diseased trees also be infected, as now appears 
likely, the disappearance of chestnut as a commercial tree will 
result. Further consideration of this question will be found under 
"Methods of Cutting and Reproduction, Hardwood Type." 

Hemlock. An area of only 132 acres, located mostly on steep 
northerly or easterly slopes or in sheltered ravines, is included in 
this type, of which 121 acres are on the Saltonstall tract. Hem- 
lock forms over 80 per cent of the stand, the remainder being 
chestnut, chestnut oak and red oak. While the entire area is 
classified as over fifty years of age, still there is a great deal of 
reproduction, mainly young hemlock, wherever openings exist. 
The type as it occurs here is evenaged. All the stands in the type 
are fully stocked and of merchantable size. The trees, except the 
chestnut which is diseased, show very little injury of any sort. 

Pine. Of the 416.5 acres in the type, 382.5 acres are planta- 
tions less than ten years of age and the remaining 34 acres are 
natural growth over eighty years old. With a few exceptions, 
white pine is the chief tree in all stands. Some Scotch pine and a 
little red pine have been planted.* A few acres of European larch 
and Norway spruce plantations have been classified under the 
pine type to avoid making other types. 

The natural growth of white pine occurs on the Salstonstall 
tract and is an open, irregular, merchantable stand with some 
hemlock and with an undergrowth of inferior hardwoods. Soil 
conditions are poor because of fires. 

The plantations are not fully stocked. Approximately 200 
acres which were planted in 1912 suffered a loss of about 50 
per cent. All gaps will be filled and brought to a density of 
over 0.7. Scattered through the plantations are small groups 
of young hardwoods under which pines were not planted, so that 
the stands contain a small mixture of hardwoods. 

Old field. All of the lands in this type were formerly cleared 

*See page 10 for a record of the plantations. 



Description of the Property 13 

and used either for cultivation or pasture. When abandoned, the 
fields soon began to reseed with trees. Ordinarily the natural 
transformation of an open field into a fully stocked forest requires 
from 50 to 100 years. In exceptional cases it has been accom- 
plished in less than ten years. 

The first trees to start on an open field are usually red cedar 
and gray birch, but aspen, soft maple and black birch also appear. 
The seeds of these trees are readily disseminated over open fields 
by birds or the wind. Several years later the heavy seeded species, 
such as chestnut, oak and hickories, come in and as they are more 
tolerant of shade than the cedar, gray birch and aspen, they 
finally get possession of the ground and change the stand over 
to the hardwood type. In other words, the old field type is only 
temporary. Land in all stages of transition, from absolutely bare 
fields to fully stocked stands of cedar, gray birch, etc., with an 
understory of chestnut, oak and hickory is included in the old 
field type. 

Since the seeding up of an old field ordinarily requires a long 
period of years the resulting stand is unevenaged in character.* 
Hence this type can not be classified directly into stands of differ- 
ent ages. But since the density of stocking indicates in a general 
way the time since the field was abandoned this may be taken as a 
rough indication of the age of the stand. f Old fields have been 
separated into three classes based on the proportion of the area 
covered with trees. A stocking of to 0.3 means that the field has 
less than one-third of its area covered with trees ; 0.4 to 0.6, 
between one-third and two-thirds covered: and 0.7 to 1.0, between 
two-thirds and completely covered. 

Old field stands are generally in healthy condition ; but even the 
oldest contain little merchantable timber. Cedar fence posts are 
the most valuable product. 

PRESENT VOLUME 

In connection with the mapping and classifying of the lands 
into types, an estimate was made of the wood and timber standing 
on the Company's land. This is expressed in cords since the 
greater part of the material is merchantable only for fuelwood. 
The figures are only approximate, because they were secured by 
ocular estimates of each stand, but they are sufficiently accurate 
for the purposes of the working plan and the management of the 
tract. The total volume is 34,140 cords. 



♦Occasionally evenagred stands of birch or aspen result. 

tWhat is wanted in this type is not so much the exact age of the trees in the stand as the 
extent to which the process of natural reseeding has progressed. 



"ca 
1 


Cords. 

28695 

2490 
595 

2360 


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Description of the Peoperty 



15 



In Table 3 the contents in cords for the principal tracts are 
given by types and age classes. 

Included in this estimate of 34,140 cords is considerable mate- 
rial of suitable size and quality for lumber. There is fully 
4,250,000 board feet of such timber divided as follows: 



Hemlock 
Pine . 
Hardwoods . 



1,000,000 board feet. 

250,000 
3,000,000 " 



GROWTH 

A detailed study of the present rate of growth has not been 
made, but during the past few years figures have been secured on 
numerous cuttings which show the mean annual growth per acre 
under various conditions. The data obtained in this way have 
been verified by comparison with the yield tables in Bulletin 96 
of the United States Forest Service, entitled "Sprout Hardwoods 
in Connecticut." 

Table 4 gives the annual growth for the four forest types. The 
areas in each type are classified according to soil quality and the 
rate of growth in cords per area of each type and quality has 
been estimated. 

Table 4. — Mean Annual Growth According to Soil Qualities. 



Type. 


Quality. 


Area. 


Annual 
growth 
per acre. 


Total. 


Hardwood 

Old field...'!!!; 

Hemlock 

Pine 


I 

II 

III 

swamp 

I 

II 

III 

swamp 

I 

II 

III 

I 

II 
III 


Acres 

660.0 

2587.0 

400.0 

56.0 

227.0 

2487.0 

14.0 

9.0 

21.0 

46.0 

65.0 

137.0 

219.0 

60.5 


Cords. 

1.0 

0.6 

0.3 

0.5 

0.8 1 

0.5 1 

0.25'" 

0.4 J 

0.8 

0.5 

0.25 

1.00 

0.7 

0.4 


Cords. 

660 

1552 

120 

28 

500* 

17 
23 
16 
137 
153 
24 




" 




Total 




6988.5 




3230 





The annual increment of 3,230 cords does not indicate the 
actual amount of wood available for cutting, since it is calcu- 
lated for young as well as merchantable stands. As a rela- 



*Reduced due to incomplete stocking. 



16 Working Plan for New Haven Water Company 

tively large part of the forest is under twenty years of age, most 
of the increment is on unmerchantable stands. 

Decrease in the annual growth due to injury by the chestnut 
blight has not been considered in this estimate since the final 
effect of the disease is not known. Should the young chestnut 
sprouts be killed back repeatedly the annual growth may fall as 
low as 1,500 cords per annum. 

UTILIZATION 

Forest products of all kinds find a ready market in New Haven 
and the surrounding country. The principal products sold at the 
present time are lumber, ties, poles and cordwood. The railroads 
and street railways aff'ord a large and steady demand for ties, 
taking chestnut and all the oaks. Chestnut poles for trolley, tele- 
phone and telegraph lines ordinarily find a ready market. Thou- 
sands of cords of wood are burned annually at the brickyards 
in the Quinnipiac Valley and by the brass mills of the Naugatuck 
Valley. New Haven and the many smaller cities and towns nearby 
consume large quantities of fuelwood. Thus cordwood usually 
finds ready sale. The principal species sawn into lumber are 
chestnut, oak, hickory, whitewood and ash. The lumber is used 
locally by the numerous manufactories. 

The timber is sawn mainly by portable mills cutting less than 
10,000 board feet per day, although there are in the region a 
few stationary mills run by water power or steam. These port- 
able mills can be easily moved into the relatively small patches of 
forest in which the merchantable timber ordinarily occurs. The 
work of cutting and hauling logs to the mills may proceed 
throughout the year. Much of the woods labor is recruited from 
farmers and men otherwise employed during the summer time. For 
this reason most of the logging is concentrated in the fall and 
winter months. After being sawn at the mills the lumber may be 
stacked near by for several months. No portions of the property 
are more than ten miles from railroads, while the average haul is 
under five. Owing to the good system of state and other public 
roads, timber is usually hauled by teams directly to the purchaser, 
instead of being shipped to them by rail. 

Ties are either hewn in the woods or sawn at the mills and then 
delivered alongside railroad sidings or trolley lines. Poles are 
cut to order, peeled and hauled to pole yards in the cities or 
dehvered at the holes in which they are to be set. Cordwood 
is cut into 5-foot lengths, piled and left in the woods for about a 
year to season. It is hauled directly to the brickyards, brass 
mills, city wood yards, etc. 



MAP 
SHOWING LOCATION 

OF 

LANDS OWNED 

NEW HAVEN WATER CO 

n>i*o_ciTia 




Description of the Property 



17 



While all parts of the Company's lands are relatively near to 
market, yet the accessibility and hence the value of the wood on 
different portions varies widely. Local topography, by rendering 
it easy or difficult to bring the forest products out to the nearest 
road, may influence values fully as much as actual distance from 
market. Since standing wood and timber in this region is rarely 
sold by the unit, average stumpage prices are not readily 
obtained. In most cases a woodlot is sold for a lump sum, and 
often the owner has no accurate idea of what he received per 
unit of product. However, based on past sales from the Com- 
pany's lands, the following figures are submitted which are as 
high as can be secured unless the owner does his own cutting and 
selhng. 

Table 5. — Prices for Wood and Timber. 



Cordwood 

Ties: 

No. 1 

" 2 

" 3 

Poles (30- and 35-foot lengths 
are most in demand) : 

30-foot 

35- " 

Lumber: 

Chestnut 

Oak 

Hemlock 

Other species 



Stumpage 

Well 

located. 

$ 1.50 per cord 



.45 apiece 
.35 " 
.12 " 



1.75 apiece 
2.25 " 



$ 8.00 per M. 
10.00 " " 
5.00 " " 
6.00 " " 



Stumpage 
Poorly 
located. 

0.30 per cord 



.30 apiece 
.20 " 
.00 '• 



fl.OO apiece 
1.30 " 



$5.00 per M. 
5.00 " " 
3.00 " " 
4.00 " " 



Value delivered, 
wholesale. 

$3.75-$5 per cord 



$ .70 apiece 

.55 " 
.35 " 



$3.00 apiece 
4.00 " 



$20-25 per M. 

20-35 " " 

18 " " 

18-25 " " 



PAST OPERATIONS 

Cuttings. Five kinds of cuttings have been made since the 
woodlands were placed under management, namely, cleanings, 
liberation cuttings, thinnings, damage cuttings and reproduction 
cuttings. Most of the cutting has been done in the hardwood type 
in which thinnings, damage cuttings and reproduction cuttings 
have been made. Approximately 150 acres have been thinned, 
250 acres have received damage cuttings and 75 acres reproduc- 
tion cuttings. 

Thinnings are moderately heavy "C" grade and remove mer- 
chantable dead, suppressed,* intermediate and a few co-dominant 
trees. This removes between 30 and 35 per cent of the total vol- 



*Frequently suppressed trees of tolerant species like beech and maple have been left as an 
understory to improve soil conditions. 



18 Working Plan for New Haven Water Company 

ume or from six to twelve cords of wood per acre. The product 
of the thinnings is suitable only for cordwood, except occasional 
chestnut fence posts. So far, thinnings have been made in stands 
tliirty-five or more years old. In two or three instances a second 
thinning has been made from five to seven years after the first. 
The second thinning, "C" grade, removes from four to six cords 
per acre, or about 20 per cent of the total volume. 

The wood removed in tliinnings has been mainly cut at a stated 
price per cord, the rate varying from 90 cents for chestnut to 
$1.25 for hickory; average $1.00 per cord. It is doubtful 
whether these prices are any higher than if the stand were cut 
clear instead of being thinned. 

Owing both to past mistreatment of certain stands and to 
injury wrought by the chestnut blight, damage cuttings have been 
and still are required. Fire-injured and stagheaded trees and all 
the diseased chestnut are taken out in the cuttings. Much of the 
material is suitable for ties, poles and lumber and is cut into these 
products instead of into posts and cordwood. A yield of from 
ten to fifteen cords per acre is usual, leaving from 30 to 60 per 
cent of the stand. The damage cuttings resemble first cuttings 
of the shelterwood system. Ordinarily oak predominates among 
the trees left standing. 

Relatively few stands have received reproduction cuttings. 
There are, however, a few examples of first cuttings under the 
polewood sprout system where in stands from fifty to sixty years 
of age about 40 per cent of the volume has been removed in the 
form of a heavy thinning for the purpose of encouraging seedling 
reproduction of heavy-seeded hardwoods. Insufficient time has 
elapsed since the cuttings to determine the success of the method. 
More frequently mature stands have been cut clear and left to 
reproduce by sprouts. Since these stands ranged in age from 
70 to 100 years, the sprout reproduction has been incomplete. 

In the pine type only a little cutting has been done. A mature 
stand on the Saltonstall tract received a damage cutting in 1910, 
unhealthy and dying trees and merchantable dead trees being cut. 

On the Maltby tract a few acres of young plantation were 
cleaned of the hardwood sprouts and seedUngs which overtopped 
the pine. On about two acres of the same tract large hardwoods 
shading young pines have also been cut. 

Method of handling cuttings. Where cordwood and posts only 
are secured in a cutting, the work has usually been done by the 
Company and the cordwood sold wholesale, piled in the woods. 
On the Maltby tract, where a small engine and cutoff^ saw are 
installed, the wood is sawn into short lengths and retailed to the 



Description of the Property 



19 



Company's employees. The Company uses all the chestnut posts 
in putting up boundary fences. 

Where ties, poles or lumber are cut, the standing timber is sold 
either by the lot or at a unit price. Only rarely has lumber been 
sold at a unit price, since local lumbermen are unfamiliar with this 
method of sale. Ties frequently, and poles nearly always, are 
sold at a unit price. 

In a few cases cordwood and timber have been sold to reliable 
purchasers on a basis of 60 per cent of the difference between the 
total expenses of manufacture and the total receipts from sales. 
By this arrangement the Company receives 60 per cent of the 
diiference and the purchaser, who finances and attends to the entire 
operation, 40 per cent. The results so far have been fully as good 
financially as could have been secured through selling by any 
other method. 

The total annual cut of all products, including lumber, ties, etc., 
figured entirely in cords for purposes of comparison, is as follows : 



1908 . 


1,300 cords 


1909 . 


1,600 " 


1910 


1,000 " 


1911 


2,500 " 


1912 


2,200 " 



Planting. Experimental plantings were made by the School on 
the Maltby tract from 1901 to 1905 and approximately forty 
acres were planted. The species used were white pine and Nor- 
way spruce, with a few European larch, red pine, Scotch pine, 
arborvitag and hemlock. From 1909 to 1912 small plantations 
of white, red and Scotch pine were also made on the Whitney 
tract. From 1906 to 1908, inclusive, no planting was done. 

In the spring of 1909 the Company planted 35,000 white pine 
transplants and five bushels of red oak acorns and in the spring of 
1910, 40,000 white pine transplants. In 1911, about 9,000 red 
oak seedlings were planted on the slopes above Lake Dawson. 
In 1912, 233,000 transplants, mainly white pine with a few Scotch 
pine and Norway spruce, were planted on the Saltonstall, Maltby 
and Whitney tracts. The area of the plantations is given in the 
"1-10 year" age class of the pine type. (See Table 2, page 10.) 

The last few seasons have been unfavorable for plantations and 
losses have been heavy. In the 1912 plantations the loss at the 
end of the first year was about 50 per cent, or approximately the 
average for the entire state. 

A nursery was established on the Maltby tract in the spring of 
1909 for producing the stock needed to plant the Company's open 



20 Working Plan fob New Haven Water Company 

lands. This nursery now has an area of one-half acre and is 
mainly used for growing seedlings to the age of two years, when 
they are transplanted and most of them placed in another nursery 
on the Whitnejj^ tract. The transplants are planted in the fields 
when three years old, though in some cases four-year-old plants 
have been used. The nurseries are now fully developed to the 
output desired, namely, a minimum of 240,000 transplants a year 
or enough to plant 200 acres. 

Inventories under date of December 31, 1912, show the following 
number of plants on hand : 



Table 6, — Amount of Nursery Stock on Hand December 31, 1912. 



Species. 


Seedlings. 


Transplants. 


1 year. 


2 year 


3 year 


4 year 


White Pine 


360,000 
450,000 




192,000 
63,500 


12,000 


Red Pine 


300,000 
12,000 
6,500 
3,000 
9,500 


Western Yellow Pine. . . 

Norway Spruce 

European Larch 




Totals 


810,000 


331,000 


255,500 


12,000 



The transplants set out in 1912 were the first grown from seed 
in the Company's nurseries. The total cost was $3.80 per thou- 
sand or $4.60 per acre of plantation. Setting out the trees, 
6x6 feet apart, or 1,210 plants per acre, cost $7.20 per acre, 
thus making the total cost of the plantation $11.80 per acre. 

Protection. The main reliance in guarding against forest fires 
is patrol. No special men are employed for this purpose, since 
regular employees are assigned to each tract to keep the reser- 
voirs and streams in proper condition and act as watchmen 
against trespassers and fires. Men are often detailed on Sundays 
and holidays during the dry season to watch particularly dan- 
gerous places. Their efficiency in extinguishing and guarding 
against fires is improving each year. 

Chemical extinguishers with extra charges are distributed in 
convenient places on the various tracts. As yet, however, the 
supply is not as large as desirable. 

Fire lines are used around some of the pine plantations, and 
also on the Wintergreen tract where there is great danger of fires 
being started by careless people. In the latter case several 
cleared lines which are burned over each year divide the tract into 



Description of the Property 



21 



sections within a single one of which a fire may be confined. Both 
burned and plowed lines are used around the plantations. With 
but few exceptions the forest is already well protected against 
grazing. 

Administration. The Forester acts in an advisory capacity, 
recommending both the general policy and most details of the 
work. Actual operations in the field are in charge of the Com- 
pany's superintendent, who accomplishes the work largely with 
the Company's regular employees, assigned temporarily as needed 
to forestry work. All the planting work and protection of the 
tract is thus handled. Most of the cordwood is cut by the Com- 
pany, but a large share of the cuttings for products more valu- 
able than cordwood is done by lumbermen who purchase the tim- 
ber, and whose work is inspected by the Company. 

Receipts and expenditures. The financial result of the work so 
far has been satisfactory, considering the condition of the tract, 
namely, that the forest is largely made up of young stands and 
that, therefore, the areas on which cuttings can now be made are 
small compared to the total size of the tract. A small surplus 
has resulted each year as shown in Table 7. Expressed as annual 
net returns per acre these figures are very low and indicate the 
present unsatisfactory condition of the forest. 



Table 7. — Receipts, Expenditures and Surplus, 1908 to 1912. 





Receipts. 


Expenditures. 


Surplus. 


1908 
1909 
1910 
1911 
1912 


$1,581.93 
5,406.56 
3,797.80 
2,335.62 
5,290.78 


$1,490.24 
2,355.22 
2,783.76 
1,965.74 
3,662.88 


$ 91.69 

3,051.34 

1,014.04 

369.88 

1,627.90 






$1,230.97 
0.155 


Avera 
base 
(exc 
8,000 


§■6 annual net r 
d on an estinia 
uding agricult 
acres 


3turn per acre 
ted total area 
ural lands) of 







Management units. For purposes of systematizing the manage- 
ment it is advisable to di%dde and subdivide the total area. The 
lands naturally group into several main tracts, each protecting 
the watershed of a given set of reservoirs. Seven such groups 
serving as main divisions are recognized, as follows: East Wal- 
lingford, Maltby, Prospect, Saltonstall, Whitney, West River and 
Wintergreen. Each tract is for convenience divided into smaller 
portions called compartments and each compartment into sub- 



22 Working Plan for New Haven Water Company 

compartments. Boundaries of compartments are usually ridges, 
streams or public roads and are easily recognizable. Compart- 
ment di\asions are permanent. A compartment may contain a 
number of different forest types and age classes. There are in all 
fifty-one compartments, ranging in size from less than 50 to over 
400 acres. 

Each compartment is divided into as many sub-compartments 
as it has individual stands, that is, portions of the forest differing 
in age or type. A single sub-compartment contains only one type 
and only one age class, and serves as the smallest unit considered. 
There are few sub-compartments of less than an acre, while the 
largest contain about 100 acres. Sub-compartment boundaries 
are often not marked on the ground, being distinguishable as lines 
of difference between types and age classes. These boundaries 
are subject to change with each revision of the maps. There are 
more than 700 sub-compartments. 



PART II. MANAGEMENT OF THE 
PROPERTY 

OBJECT OF MANAGEMENT 

The chief interest of the Company is water, with forestry as a 
secondary consideration. Water companies depending upon the 
flow of streams are in a favorable position to practice forestry. 
It is necessary for them to own more or less land around their 
reservoirs and along the main streams. A forest cover on a 
watershed assists in keeping the water free from impurities. Much 
of the land, either from its topography or quality of soil, is incapa- 
ble of producing farm crops, and forestry affords the only means 
whereby it can be made productive. The remainder, although 
fertile enough to be of agricultural value, is, for the most part, 
so located with respect to streams and reservoirs that it is inadvis- 
able to farm on account of the danger of contaminating the water. 
Cultivation may be practiced provided no manure is used, but 
inasmuch as the fields deteriorate rapidly unless fertilized, it 
amounts to the same thing as forbidding cultivation. 

A water company having an indeterminate existence is in a 
better position than a private owner to afford the present invest- 
ment needed to protect and develop the forest until finally it 
becomes the source of an annual net income. The New Haven 
Water Company realizes that its lands can be made to grow tree 
crops without interfering with its main work. It desires to make 
this profitable financially and at the same time afford the maximum 
protection to the watersheds. This is the main purpose of the 
forest management. 

While striving for the best financial results, effort is directed 
to developing the appearance of the forest from the aesthetic stand- 
point. 

SILVICULTURAL SYSTEMS 

Methods of Cutting and Reproduction 

Hardwood type. Where this type is to be managed perma- 
nently for the production of hardwoods, the so-called "polewood 
sprout" method of reproduction is advised. Under this method 



24 Working Plan for New Haven Water Company 

a heavy cutting, removing from 40 to 60 per cent of the stand, 
should be made from eight to fifteen years before the end of the 
rotation, to encourage seedling reproduction of species wliich do 
not sprout prolificly. At the end of the rotation the remainder 
of the stand is cut and the seedlings wliich started after the first 
cutting, together with sprouts, form the new stand. The "pole- 
wood sprout" method can be applied only to stands which do not 
need to be harvested for approximately ten years. Overmature 
stands which must be utilized at once are cut clear and reproduced 
by sprouts. This does not give a fully stocked stand, as many of 
the stumps fail to sprout. The open places should be planted. 

Eventually it may be advisable to change the entire hardwood 
type into a pine forest. Whether this should be done will depend 
largely upon whether means are found for controlling the chestnut 
blight. Chestnut is now an abundant tree on the tract and is a 
rapid grower, hence if it becomes possible to grow it with a rea- 
sonable degree of safety, the hardwood type should be managed 
for chestnut. A final decision on this point should be postponed. 
With the chestnut eliminated from the hardwood forest, there are 
no species left which can approach the white and red pines in rate 
of gro^vth and yield per acre. The oaks would be the principal 
trees left were the chestnut removed, and they are particularly 
susceptible to the attack of the gipsy moth. There is a possibiUty 
that this insect may spread throughout Connecticut and in that 
event it would be imperative to replace the hardwoods, especially 
the oak, with pine. 

For the next few years cuttings in the hardwood type will be 
almost entirely of three classes: (1) Clear cutting of overmature 
stands; (2) damage cuttings to remove blight-injured chest- 
nut; (3) thinnings in stands from thirty to fifty years of age, 
removing 25 to 40 per cent of the volume, for the pui'pose of 
increasing the rate of growth and utilizing trees which would 
otherwise be overtopped and killed. 

Hemlock type. A large share of the hemlock forest grows on 
steep, rocky, thin-soiled slopes and ridges where it is essential that 
a forest cover be preserved. On such situations it is often difficult 
to re-establish the forest if once removed, since hemlock does 
not sprout. For these reasons stands of hemlock on slopes and 
ridges should never be cut clear, but only single individuals 
and groups of the larger trees removed at any one time. Tliis will 
maintain an unevenaged stand and furnish the best possible pro- 
tection to exposed sites. 

In a few cases the hemlock type occurs on level or gentle sloping 
land. Here the mature stands, which are nearly evenaged, should 



Management of the Property 25 

be cut clear and the area planted to pine. Hemlock is too slow- 
growing to be encouraged anywhere but on steep slopes, where 
its thick crown and habit of retaining live branches well down to 
the ground make it admirable as a protection forest. 

Pine type. All stands but one in this type are ten years of age 
or younger. For this reason it is hardly necessary to decide on 
the method of reproduction to be used in the type as a whole. The 
one mature stand is open in character, but with such a thick 
undergrowth of shrubs and hardwoods that it will be difficult to 
secure natural reproduction. The stand should be left untouched 
for the next ten years to the end that reproduction may start 
beneath the hardwood undergrowth. 

The young plantations, except those made in open fields, will 
require improvement cuttings to remove undesirable trees and 
shrubs that are overtopping and injuring the pine. 

Old field type. The forest on old fields is too open and is com- 
posed either of such slow-growing trees as cedar, or such worthless 
trees as gray birch, that conversion into pine is desirable. On the 
old fields having a density of stocking of 0.6 or less the con- 
version can be accomplished by planting the openings. At the 
present time it is not advisable to plant old fields that have grown 
up thickly. These should be left until the stand becomes old 
enough to be cut for cordwood. A clear cutting can then be 
made and the area planted. 

Rotation and Expected Yield 

Hardwood type. A rotation of from sixty to eighty years with 
the average nearer the latter, will be needed in order to secure 
trees large enough for lumber. No reUable yield tables exist for 
mixed hardwood stands, but from the cut of numerous mature 
stands, it is believed that at eighty years not more than 20,000 
board feet will be secured and ordinarily the yield will be much 
less. 

Hemlock type. A rotation of from 80 to 100 years is advisable. 
Owing to the poor sites and to the fact that the type is managed 
as a protection forest, the yield will be low. No definite data are 
available to determine the amount. 

Pine type. Yield tables for white pine are available and show 
that a rotation of about fifty years is at present the most profit- 
able. In the yield table constructed by the New Hampshire For- 
estry Commission and published in their report for 1905-06, the 
following yields in board feet per acre are given for pine stands at 
fifty years of age : 



26 Working Plan foe New Haven Water Company 

Quality I . . . 47,450 board feet. 

Quality II . . . 37,800 " " 

Quality III . . . 27,650 " " 

These figures are too high for use here since the climate is less 
favorable for white pine, but yields of 40,000, 30,000 and 20,000 
board feet, on soil qualities I, II and III, respectively, are possible 
at fifty years. 

Regulation of the Yield 

For purposes of regulating the 3'ield, the entire tract may be 
considered a unit on which it is desirable to have an annual yield 
rather than cuttings at periodic intervals. The annual growth 
amounts to 3,230 cords, but owing to the fact that the older age 
classes are deficient, it will be impossible to continue cutting the 
full growth. If the tract is to be put into normal condition much 
less than the growth should be cut for some time and the forest 
capital, that is, the growing stock, allowed to accumulate. As 
stated in Part I under the heading "Growth," injury by the 
chestnut blight may reduce the annual increment to 1,500 cords a 
year. 

Unfortunately, the present situation is such that the annual 
yield cannot be brought down to a low figure for several years 
without allowing much timber to go to waste. It is imperative 
that diseased and dying chestnut be cut before it becomes unfit 
for use. For the next few years the amount of the annual cut 
will be fixed quite largely by this requirement. Outside of cut- 
tings to remove damaged chestnut, thinnings to improve the rate 
of growth should be practically the only cuttings made for the 
next ten years. Not over 500 cords per year should be removed 
in these thinnings. The cuttings to remove damaged chestnut 
probably will not exceed 2,500 cords in any one year. 

Cutting Policy 

Within the next ten years the following cuttings should be 
made: 

(a) All stands over seventy years of age cut clear. 

(b) Damage cuttings in stands containing merchantable 
chestnut, removing this species. 

(c) Thinnings in all well-stocked stands from tliirty to sixtj'^ 
years old. 

The stands silviculturally most in need of attention should be 
treated first. 



Management of the Property 27 

Where the products secured are cordwood and chestnut fence 
posts, the work will be done by the Company with men working 
either by the day (in exceptional cases), or at a fixed price per 
unit. All chestnut posts can be used by the Company in its own 
fences. 

Where ties, poles and lumber as well as cordwood are cut, sales 
should continue to be made to local lumbermen. These sales may 
include the entire stand and be for a lump sum or any one of 
the three mentioned products may be sold separately and at unit 
prices. Ordinarily more can be secured for a given stand if the 
timber is sold at unit prices. Owing to the fact, however, that 
lumbermen object to buying in this way and that it is often 
troublesome to keep close track of the cutting and check the timber 
removed, it may be best in manj^ cases to sell for a lump sum. 
The arrangement already tried of permitting a lumberman to cut 
and sell timber and pay for it on the basis of 60 per cent of the 
difference between receipts from sales and expenses of operation 
should be continued in certain instances. Eventually the Com- 
pany may find it advisable, instead of selling the stumpage, to sell 
the products in manufactured form. At present, however, the 
annual operations are not extensive enough to make this profitable. 

Trees to be removed in thinnings and damage cuttings are 
blazed at a convenient height from the ground. As the chopping 
proceeds, frequent inspections by the Company's foremen will 
insure that only marked trees are cut. In clear cuttings the 
boundaries of the area should be designated. 

Except in rare cases the brush and tops will be left as they lie 
after cutting. It is considered unnecessary to dispose of them as 
an aid in protection, because the chief fire danger comes from the 
hardwood leaves spread in a comparatively uniform layer over the 
ground. A fire will start and spread readily in leaves, and tops 
only add to the intensity of the fire. Hardwood tops inside of 
two years partially decay and absorb so much moisture that they 
bum with difficulty. The brush should be piled and burned on 
clear cut areas which are to be immediately planted. 

Planting 

Planting is done primarily to bring the open areas in the old 
field type into forest. Natural reproduction on these areas is 
slow and usually brings in slow-growing and worthless species. 
The old field type consists of 2,737 acres, of which approximately 
800 are open. The cost, judging by past experience, will average 
$12 to $15 per acre for a completed plantation. It is advised that 



28 Working Plan for New Haven Water Company 

200 acres a year be planted, requiring nine years to cover the 
present old field area. Inasmuch as it will undoubtedly be neces- 
sary to fill fail places in a portion of the plantations, probably 
over ten years will be needed to finish. 

White and red pine are the two species advised for planting and 
are chosen for their commercial value, rapidity of growth, high 
yield per acre and, in case of the red pine, immunity from insects 
or fungous enemies. With the exception of the chestnut, white- 
wood and white ash, all the native hardwoods are slower growing 
than these pines. The blight makes the planting of chestnut 
inadvisable. Whitewood and wliite ash, especially the former, 
thrive only on fairly moist, or bottom land sites, which are com- 
paratively infrequent. As a cover for city watersheds, conifers 
are to be preferred to hardwoods on lands near streams and reser- 
voirs, because hardwood leaves blow into the water and often have 
to be removed. 

Either of the pines can be planted on all well-drained sites, but 
not on soil saturated with water for the greater part of the 
growing season. Swamps present the greatest problem from the 
planting standpoint, since few commercial species thrive on wet 
ground and it is difficult to get them started. American arbor- 
vitas is probably the best conifer that can be planted in the wet 
land. For the present the question of planting the swampy ground 
will be held open, attention being devoted to planting the far 
larger areas of upland. 

The question of changing the hardwood type into a nearly pure 
stand of pine, with a mixture of hardwoods, will also be kept in 
abeyance until the old field type is planted. The change could be 
accomplished by setting out on clear-cut hardwood lands from 
100 to 200 pines per acre in the openings between clumps of 
sprouts. The resulting stand could finally, under treatment, be 
made nearly pure pine. On the open fields the plants should be 
spaced 6x6 feet. 

Three-year-old once-transplanted stock should be used. The 
work of growing the plants is now being carried on successfull}'^ 
by the Company and should be continued. The planting has been 
done by its men. It should be done in the early spring and rushed 
through before the weather becomes warm and dry. Unfortunately 
the demands for laying new water pipe are urgent at this season 
and it is difficult to obtain the necessary labor to do the planting 
promptly. The length of time required to finish planting in the 
spring of 1912 indicates that possibly, having part, at least, of 
the field planting done by contract may be as satisfactory as 
having it all done by the Company's employees. Either this plan 



Management of the Property 29 

should be given a trial or an extra force employed for a few weeks 
during the planting season. 

Fail places in the plantations made the preceding year should 
be filled each year if the loss exceeds 25 per cent, or in case of a 
smaller loss if in the form of a few relatively large patches 
instead of being scattered uniformly. 

Protection 

The system of protection against fires which has been used for 
the last few years (see page 20) should be continued. The plan- 
tations ought to be watched with special care and protected by 
fire lines as well as by patrol. More fire fighting tools, such as 
chemical extinguishers and bucket pumps, are needed. Those now 
available are distributed at the most important places, but more 
should be purchased and placed at advantageous points in planta- 
tions and other dangerous situations. One extinguisher or pump 
to every fifty acres of plantation would be good economy. 

Certain stands in the old field and hardwood types are suffering 
from the grazing of cattle. In nearly all of these cases the land 
is owned by the Company but subject to life use or use for a period 
of years by the former owner. As these rights expire, grazing 
should be stopped except on lands better suited for grazing pur- 
poses than for growing trees. The two cannot be successfully 
practiced on the same area. 

Administration 

The system of administration now in use and described on page 
21 should remain in force. 

Expected Financial, Returns 

Forestry should prove a better proposition financially for water 
companies than for most other land owners. This is mainly 
because the investment in land with interest and taxes cannot be 
justly charged against the forestry account. The land is held 
for protection and water conservation, and taxes and interest 
must be figured regardless of whether forestry is practiced or not. 

Being relieved of these charges, which accumulate during the 
half century or more required to grow a tree crop, the returns 
eventually should be relatively high. European forests in rare 
cases yield as high as $15 net profit per acre per annum and 
annual net returns of $5 per acre are frequent. In the course 



30 Working Plan for New Haven Water Company 

of time results comparable with this latter figure are anticipated 
from the tract, but for the present nothing of the sort is possible. 
It is expected that during the next ten years, while extensive 
planting is in progress, the expenditures can be a little more than 
covered by the receipts. 

Revision of the Working Plant 

The plan should be revised at the end of ten years from date 
of present working plan. 



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